The semiconductor fabrication industry utilizes an array of chemicals in solid, liquid and vapor phase in storage and dispense under standard temperatures and pressures, such as ambient conditions. These chemicals can have widely varying vapor pressures and viscosities based upon their chemical structures and whether they are in their neat or pure form or are contained in a solvent.
Chemicals are typically utilized by the semiconductor fabrication industry by dispensing them from containers of varying sizes and capacities into reaction chambers where the chemicals are utilized to fabricate a semiconductor device such as integrated circuits, memory devices and photovoltaic devices.
Regardless of the size of the chemical container, at some point in time the semiconductor fabricator will need to replace a chemical container that is depleted of chemical or detach a chemical container for other service requirements.
The detachment or replacement of a chemical container in a semiconductor fab Is not an insignificant activity. These chemicals are typically required at extremely high purities and frequently cannot be exposed to air or uncontrolled outside conditions that might effect the chemicals purity during such a detachment or replacement of the chemicals' container.
In addition, these chemicals frequently can react adversely to moisture and/or oxygen in air. Such reactions can lead to contaminating by-product impurities which may plug the container or delivery lines and cause corrosion or contamination or both.
The semiconductor fabrication industry continues to seek containers and delivery equipment that will meet the needs identified above, while being compact, simple in construction and having a small footprint near the reactor that the container services. The present invention meets those long felt needs as will be more fully described below.